The present invention relates to the field of the textile industry, in particular the handling of spools of threads at the outlet of a winder or any other machine producing spools of threads, and has for its object a machine for tucking, labelling and palletizing spools at the outlet of such machines.
The invention also has for its object a process practiced by such a machine.
At present, spools formed on winders or at the outlet of other textile machines are generally subjected to different successive manual operations of tucking, gluing a distinctive label and palletizing before sending or transferred to another machine or to another work station. Thus, these operations can be carried out by one and the same operator who performs these successive operations.
However, such an operative procedure has the drawback of depending entirely on the speed of execution of the operator, such that the output is relatively low. Because of this, it is possible, to increase the speed of execution, which is to say removing the bobbins and processing them, to increase the number of operators. However, such an increase in the number of operators gives rise to a corresponding increase in the labor cost.
To overcome these drawbacks, there have been proposed different automatic tucking machines disposed at the outlet of winding machines or other machines producing spools, these automatic tucking machines using a tucking needle provided at its end with an eye and penetrating into the end of the spool to grasp the trailing end of the thread and to pull it, after a rotation of 90xc2x0 about its longitudinal axis, through said end of the spool. It results that the thread end is maintained by its end rolled up in the thread on the spool and can be disengaged by a simple pull during subsequent use.
In such an embodiment, it is however necessary to impart to the tucking needle a relatively complex path, which requires a relatively cumbersome installation.
As to the labelling subsequent to this tucking operation, the latter can as the case may be also be carried out at a separate station, a robot then receiving the spools to arrange them on a pallet.
These known embodiments of handling spools at the outlet of winders or other machines producing spools, however does not permit carrying out these different operations rapidly, in a confined space and with a minimum of work force.
The present invention has for its object to overcome these drawbacks by providing a machine permitting completely handling the spools at the outlet of the winder or other machine producing spools whilst requiring no operator at a fixed station.
To this effect, the invention has for its object a machine characterized in that it is essentially constituted by a station for positioning spools, at the output of a winder or other machine producing spools, and cutting the tag end of the thread, by a robot or the like for grasping the spool, supplying it to a rotating plate and then removing the spool from the turning plate and loading them on a pallet, by a device for grasping, positioning, holding and cutting to length the tag end of the filament, by a means for needle tucking or the like, and by a labelling station, the assembly of these stations and devices being controlled by means of a computer control means.
The invention also has for its object a process for handling spools at the outlet of winders or other machines, which consists essentially in positioning said spools at the outlet of the machine that produces them, cutting the trailing end of the thread, grasping the spools by means of a robot or the like and bringing them onto a turning plate, grasping, positioning, holding and cutting to length the trailing end, tucking or fixing said thread by means of a tucking means with a needle or like securement means, if desired applying a label to each spool, then dismounting the individual spools and resting them on a reception pallet or the like, the assembly of the operation being controlled by a computer control means.